Convergence
by KennetKarona
Summary: A mighty gate opens up in the sky, and with its emergence, worlds that wouldn't normally interact with one another seem to be combining into one. What is left for those that have been placed into such confusing surroundings?
1. Chapter 1

Convergence - Prelude to Darkness, part 1

Raindrops fell upon the empty town as a lone figure trudged along the muddy streets. The window blinds  
banging back and forth from the wild wind didn't seem to ease the figure's troubled heart, dragging a large  
key behind. With a flash of lightning in the distance, it revealed the figure to be a young man with silver hair.  
His clothing was in rags, and his eyes seemed rather empty.

"Randolf..." the youth said. "Randolf, are you listening to me?" No one responded to his request. "I see  
you have left me too." He stopped walking, staring at the muddy street beneath him. In a fit of rage, he  
heaved the large key forwards and threw it onto the ground. "Everyone seems to leave me! Why?!" He  
collapsed to his knees, tears blending in with the raindrops that collected on his face.

"You know you can change that," an echo whispered in his mind. He lifted his face, unsure of who was  
speaking. He looked at the giant key, thinking it was talking back, but when it spoke again, it sounded  
different from what he was used to. It sounded rather feminine, with an accent. "Caina, you know that you  
have a splendid power. Why not use it to change what has happened?"

"What has happened? You mean...?"

"Yes," the echo said slyly. "You know you can change what happened to your beloved. You can open  
dimensions and change reality as you know it..."

"With Randolf the Magic Key. I can't do that on my own." Caina looked back at the large key in front of  
him, wishing that the key would respond. "I... can no longer hear his voice, or use him. He's nothing more  
than a paperweight now."

"That's nonsense..." The echo was beginning to sound closer, and as he looked around, surely, he saw a  
figure standing in the shadows of a building. "Randolf was a tool to channel your power. You had it all along  
inside you, this... glorious power to bend reality."

"I... have?" He looked at the figure closely, trying to determine who it was. "Who are you, and how do you  
know all of this about me?" The shaded figure stepped forward as another flash of lightning lit the town up. A  
woman with a tanned complexion and her black hair pulled back into a bun was walking towards him, smirking  
evilly.

"Call me Excella." She stepped forward, holding her hand out to help him up. Her hands were gloved with  
black leather, which matched the business dress she was wearing. "My boss thinks that you and him would  
work quite well together. He could help you get what you want, and you'd have nothing to lose in exchange."

Caina took her hand and stood up, tears still streaming down his face. Excella shook her head, tsking his sad  
look as she pushed aside the water on his face. "What do I have to do?" He didn't know if she was telling the  
truth or not, but he would do anything to bring back the one he loved. Excella grinned, walking behind him to lift  
up the key and offer it to him.

"Point this at the sky and repeat the words I'll tell you. After that, your wish will come true, and you'll have  
nothing more to do with us." Caina's facial expression lit up, which made Excella grin even wider. He lifted the  
key towards the sky, the blade part pointing directly towards the rainclouds. Leaning in to his ear, Excella  
whispered the phrase he was to repeat.

"Hear me, land, and hear me, sky,  
Tis a pact spoken of only in lore.  
The sky shall part, the land shall cry,  
What was once shall be no more.

Break this world, and begin anew,  
Fuse the boundaries that line reality.  
Bring together in one what is two,  
And make this wish fly free."

The land rumbled as the rain suddenly stopped. Excella backed away into the shadows as Caina stared at  
the sky. The clouds began to part in a large circle, the blade of the key forming the middle marker as the sky  
took on a crimson hue. The stars were no longer shown as nothing but darkness pooled forward, the crimson  
light surrounding the edges.

"Hey, Excella, is this supposed to happen?" Caina asked, finally looking back for her. She was nowhere to be  
seen, which started to worry him. He went to lower his hands, but his entire body seemed transfixed to the  
position he was after finishing the phrase. "Excella! What's going on?!"

"You'll be the cornerstone for the new world, Caina. But don't worry, I promised you that your wish would be  
fulfilled, and it will. Vinsfield will be brought back, but you won't be around to see it." Excella's voice echoed  
around the scenery. "Behold, the dawn of a new world. And a new world requires someone to rule it, doesn't  
it?" Her eerie laugh echoed around the town as Caina was left holding Randolf towards the darkness.

Rays of light began to pour out of the darkness. Caina was unable to do anything as the light shot across the  
sky, disappearing from sight as it flew past the horizon. As the last of the lights flew out from the darkness, what  
followed behind them were streaks of darkness. Clouded tails followed the black balls as they shot off into the  
horizon in a similar fashion to the lights. One streak, however, floated its way down towards Caina, hovering in  
front of him.

"You must be the one that opened the barrier," the darkness muttered in a deep voice. "Know that your desire  
has doomed this world and others. Feel better knowing you won't see it come to that, though." The darkness  
began to hover closer towards him, spreading fear over Caina's face. As much as he struggled to break free of his  
form, the darkness reached and enveloped him. His vision began to fade, as did all grasp of his thoughts. His body  
went numb, and he couldn't focus on reality anymore. He struggled to speak, but nothing came out. He had lost  
everything, despite what Excella had said. Now, only the darkness was left.


	2. Chapter 2

Convergence - Prelude to Darkness, part 2

A young woman started waking up, surrounded by plenty of trees and bushes. She felt the aches on her  
body, wondering what she had previously gone through, and then recalled the events that had happened to  
her. She was Antenora Victoria, a deadly agent of Cocytus and a member of Odessa. They seemed like bad  
memories to her now, after what she had went through.

She had lost her life during the last mission that Cocytus was instructed to do. Protecting a tower seemed  
simple, but enemies of Odessa appeared, and at their hands, she had lost her life. Looking around the  
scenery, she wondered what had happened to change the outcome. She checked over her body and found no  
wounds, nor was there anything closely resembling her tower in the distance.

She stood up and brushed the dirt off of her clothes, wondering where exactly she was. She didn't have to  
wonder for long, as a bush nearby began to rustle, causing her attention to stray towards it. Putting her right  
hand behind her back, small threads began to form from the tip of her fingers as a strange creature jumped out  
of the bush.

Narrowly avoiding the drooling mouth of the beast, Antenora jumped out of the way and threw her threads  
over the creature like a net. It struggled for a short time with the net before breaking through it, turning around  
and attempting to take another bite at her. She jumped out of its way once again and attempted to put a  
muzzle on the creature, only to have it fail.

"What's going on?!" she asked, outraged. Never before had her threads failed to subdue an enemy. Fearing  
for her life now, she went to jump out of the way, but the creature was getting wise to her strategy. It lunged  
at where she was going to be, snarling as more drool dripped out of its maw. Antenora looked around quickly,  
trying to find a means to protect herself, but she couldn't keep her gaze off of the creature long enough.

A single shot from a gun resonated through the forest, spooking many of the wildlife creatures around her.  
The creature had been shot in the leg, wounding it, but it continued to stare at Antenora with gluttony in its  
eyes. Another shot, clipping its left ear this time, caused it to turn away. She leaned against a tree, catching  
her breath and trying to remain calm so she could think more clearly.

"Hello there!" A young man's voice shouted towards her. "Are you okay?" Antenora looked towards the  
direction of the voice and her eyes widened. Standing with his bayonet resting on his right shoulder was a  
blue-haired youth wearing a cowboy outfit. She knew him only as Ashley Winchester, one of the few that had  
taken her life. "I saw you in trouble and decided to help out. Are you okay?" She was confused as to the help  
he had offered her, but decided to play along.

"Yes... I'm fine," she brushed off some more dirt from her clothes as she responded. "Who are you?" She  
figured maybe he was suffering from amnesia. He looked exactly like she remembered, but he didn't seem so  
intent on apprehending her this time. Whatever had brought her back to life may have affected him as well, she  
thought.

"Did you forget me already? I'm Ashley." So he didn't lose his memory after all, she figured. He also seemed  
to remember her, but was still helping her out. "Antenora, where are we?" She shrugged, giving up what little  
bit of sanity she had left. Sighing, she began walking in a random direction, trying to lose him, but he caught  
up, walking beside her and continuing to talk. "A lot happened since I last saw you, but I know that this isn't  
right. I mean, look at you."

"You're not half-bad to look at either, you know," she chuckled, teasing him. She knew he was telling the  
truth, but she couldn't quite explain it either. The forest was unfamiliar, and so was the animals that inhabited  
it. From the strangely colored birds to the large insects, this was unlike any place they had ever been before  
on Filgaia.

"I was shocked to see you alive. I mean, did you actually survive beyond the tower?" Antenora shook her  
head, remembering that much. But there was nothing but darkness between her last memory there, and  
waking up in the forest. "Then, have you heard of anything like this happening?" Again, she shook her head.  
"That's it, I don't know anymore."

"Look, you would probably do better relying on what you're good for, and that's fighting. I've seen your  
work before, remember?" She smirked, poking his forehead. "Leave the thinking up to those that were paid  
to do so." She then remembered Odessa, and wondered if they were still around. "Did you and your friends  
take care of Vinsfield?"

"Yes. But now I'm not sure of anything that we may or may not have done. This forest, these creatures, and  
the sky... None of it is familiar." He had a point, and as she looked at the blue sky through holes in the canopy,  
there were black branches that seemed to pierce through many of the clouds. "Almost like we're not in Filgaia  
anymore."

"Listen to yourself, Ashley!" She stopped walking, a bit fed up with the discussion. "Not in Filgaia anymore?  
Where, then, would you say we are in? Do you know of any other place we could be in, because I don't think it  
is possible for us to be anywhere else!" Enraged, she began stomping off, her high-heel boots breaking many  
of the branches she stepped on. He took a while, but Ashley soon caught back up.

"I'm sorry. I'm just not sure of anything right now." She understood his feelings, but kept quiet as they  
continued on their way through the forest. Ashley pulled on her arm, signaling her to stop quietly as the bushes  
nearby began to rustle. Expecting a similar situation, Antenora readied her threads, while Ashley loaded a few  
more bullets into his bayonet.

The same creature from before appeared through the bushes, only it had brought more of its kind to make  
sure it wouldn't lose. They were all similar to canines, with a dirtish-brown color covering its body, but their  
manes spiked near the tip and blood covered their tails. This time, they were showing their sparkling white  
fangs, growling as drool continued to drip from their mouths. Antenora wasn't sure if they'd do well through this  
fight now, considering they were outnumbered and she was useless against them.

"I don't have enough bullets for all of these," Ashley whispered, starting to worry as well. "I fought one of  
these before I found you, and the only thing that seemed to work on them was the bullets. My blade couldn't  
break the skin. What should we do, Antenora?"

Antenora looked over the situation closely. With her limited capabilities in battle, and Ashley's limited supply of  
bullets, she was thinking that there wasn't much more for them to do. Throwing her hand full of threads towards  
a branch above them, she yelled at Ashley, "You better start climbing, or we're lunch!"


	3. Chapter 3

Convergence - Prelude to Darkness, part 3

Ashley grabbed hold of the threads and quickly pulled himself up, Antenora following behind closely as the  
beasts snarled and bit at her. As he hoisted himself up, Ashley took Antenora's hand, and for a moment,  
they just looked at one another, not really believing this situation was happening. A snapping jaw of a beast  
brought them back to the problem at hand, and he pulled her the rest of the way up onto the branch.

To spread the weight, Ashley stood closer to the tree, while Antenora climbed up a few more branches,  
hoping to get a better view of the surroundings. Her white robe was getting caught on a few branches, so  
she took the flowing pieces up in her arms to make her climb easier. However, as she was still in range of  
Ashley, she scoffed and looked down towards him. "You better not look up here," taunting him, yet at the  
same time sternly telling him not to do it. He nodded, shooing her away with his hand as he watched the  
beasts below.

As she rose through the tree's branches, she recalled the slight moment they had just shared, and  
wondered if there was something more to this place than met the eye. Sure, they were sworn enemies at one  
time, but Ashley had taken down the one she swore to get revenge to. Her job was done with him, and there  
was nothing more to her relation with Odessa, or Vinsfield for that matter.

"As if," she looked down at the blue-haired youth again. He wasn't much younger than her, and really, she  
wasn't interested in the hero type. She had read his profile when she was with Odessa, and he was already  
with someone too. Why did it matter to her, anyway? Rolling her eyes as she got wrapped up in the facts, she  
continued climbing to get her mind off of it.

Pushing through the top layer of tree brush, she stood on a thin limb and looked around. The forest they  
were in continued for a few miles in all directions, which made it obvious that they were actually near the edge  
before, and walked further in. None of the landscape looked familiar to her, and Ashley's idea of them being in  
another world was looking more likely as the seconds passed.

A large mountain was stretching out towards the north, wrapping close to the west and the east. A small  
river stretched out near the middle of the mountain, breaking the forest up further to the west and leaving  
nothing but plains on the other side. However, there was a large tower jutting out on a hill far to the south, a  
large figure perched on top of it. A flash of light drew her attention back to the west, where there was smoke  
popping in the air in a celebratory fashion.

The last feature she came to focus on was the sky. Mixed with the normal blue and cloudy white was  
branches of darkness, similar to the night sky, but there was nothing shining within it. It worked its way  
through the skyscape much like a crack in a window, jagged and tapering off in certain spots. It seemed to get  
disappear the further east it went, getting thicker to the west.

"I think I found some civilization, but you should come... aaugh!" She screamed as the branch she was  
standing on gave way. Falling quite a few feet, her speed was decreased by the branches in her way, which  
she was lucky gave way easier than she had expected. As she came closer to where Ashley was, he threw his  
bayonet into the tree she was falling near, hoping she'd catch onto it and it would stick.

She grabbed hold of it, causing it to dig into the tree for a few feet. However, she quickly lost her grip and  
continued to fall. Balling her hand into a fist, she pushed it towards the bayonet, threads stretching from the  
tips of her fingers to wrap around the handle of the weapon. It went down a few more feet before securing  
itself in the tree firmly. The beasts beneath her saw how close she was, attempting to jump off of one another  
to bite at her. Pulling her legs up during every attempt, Ashley worked his way down the branches to help her  
get a proper footing on another branch.

"That was close," Ashley said, relieved she didn't fall all the way. She was thankful he was around, in more  
ways than one now. As she released her threads around the hilt, he climbed up towards it to work it out of the  
tree. "So, what did you see up there?"

"Your farfetched idea of us being in another world doesn't seem so farfetched anymore," she said plainly. As  
much as she disliked the idea, there was no denying it. Nothing was familiar to her, and she was quite certain  
she knew most of Filgaia by now. Odessa had made sure to show her the world when she worked in it.

Ashley didn't seem so bothered by the idea. He was quiet for a bit, as if thinking the situation over, but he  
continued trying to pull his bayonet out as he did so. "So, another world, huh...?"

"Yep. But, it looks like there's a place far to the west throwing a celebration. I'm sure if we head there, we can  
learn a bit more about the whole thing." Ashley nodded, thinking the same thing. "It'd probably be safer if we  
continue in the branches, rather than down there."

"That's just as dangerous as being down there, though. We don't know what else lies in wait for us."

"True, but this way, we can keep an eye on the direction we're going. I can probably take care of the rest of  
the creatures up here, and if not, we can cut our way towards the edge." He shrugged, unsure of what to  
suggest as an alternative. He pried his bayonet out of the tree, wiping the sap off of the edges. "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, I guess," he said. She led the way, making sure her footing was solid on the branches  
before continuing forward. Ashley followed behind her slowly, keeping an eye on the creatures beneath. They  
seemed to keep their focus on Antenora specifically, which made him suspicious. She was being awfully nice for  
them being enemies before. Just what was she up to?

As the day wound on, Antenora kept popping up through the top of the canopy to make sure where they were  
going. When she came down, she'd keep the direction going in one way, surely meaning they were getting closer.  
They were both glad to see the trees thinning out, but at the expense that they would soon have to get back  
down. The beasts didn't seem to give up stalking their prey underneath.

"We're going to have to get rid of them one way or another," Ashley commented. Antenora knew he was right,  
but didn't know of a way they could do it safely. Standing at the edge of the forest, they saw they had limited  
choices. The sun was still high in the sky, but they didn't have much to run to if they were to jump down.

Antenora had a bright idea, and decided to keep Ashley out of the loop. "They seem to be after me. Go along  
the forest's edge and climb down, then meet me on the other side of the river. I won't be long." Ashley watched  
her closely as he started to move. "Trust me on this, ok? We're both in this situation, and we have to work  
together."

"Well, ok..." He left, and she saw him running towards the river soon afterwards. Leaving her with all of the  
monsters, she thought hard to herself. On the one hand, she just helped someone that used to be her enemy  
escape, leaving her with all of the creatures. But, she had figured that this was the best way to avoid any  
problems with her plan. Loosening up the threads at her fingertips, she smiled and went into action.

Jumping off of the branch, she whipped her right hand downwards, creating a large force behind the threads  
as they came crushing down towards the beasts. They moved out of the way, on edge as they had been  
waiting for her for some time. She had expected this, however, and landed with little problem. Taking no time to  
chance, she swung with her left hand, a swiping motion as the threads spread from her fingers outwards.

Although it caused no harm to the creatures, she managed to force them back a bit. Pushing off on her right  
foot, she began to run towards the river, hoping they couldn't swim. She saw Ashley had just reached the other  
side, waving her hands towards him. "Shoot them!"

"But I'm not good at shooting them from this far!" Unable to argue against her request, however, Ashley  
began to aim. The first shot brushed by Antenora's face, nearly nicking her, before it pierced the front right paw  
of one of the monsters.

"Watch where you're shooting!"

"Sorry!" The second shot was further from her this time, but it didn't end up hitting the creatures in any way.  
There were too many, and he wasn't able to take care of enough. A few nipped at Antenora's robes, causing her  
to slow down a bit. Giving them a swift kick to the maw, she grabbed hold of her flowing garments with her  
hands and tried to run faster.

Another shot managed to shoot at the ground just in front of two, scaring them away. Ashley shot at one  
more, using his last bullet to dig into a hind leg of a pursuer just as Antenora jumped into the cold water. Wading  
in chest-deep water, she quickly came out on the other side, soaking wet. She turned around, breathing heavily  
as she watched the creatures gaze at her from across the river.

"Ha! So you can't swim! Lucky me!" She turned around and taunted them with her rear. "Let's go before they  
get wise, Ashley."

"Go where?" Antenora turned and pointed towards the western sky, where bright lights flashed in the sky, and  
smoke seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"To where the celebration's taking place, of course."


	4. Chapter 4

Convergence - Prelude to Darkness, part 4

The grassy plains stretched out for a few miles in the direction they were heading. Luckily for them, the  
warm sun was managing to dry out their wet clothes from their scrape with the beasts. Antenora kept quiet,  
embarrassed that her thin clothing was sticking to her in ways she wouldn't want, while Ashley just kept an  
eye on the sky above.

"What do you suppose that means?" Ashley asked, obviously referring to the dark cracks in the sky. "It  
looks ominous, like the Stained Paradigm that had taken Filgaia over." Antenora wasn't too sure what he  
meant by that. "Sorry, that was when you weren't around." He went to explain how Odessa's terrorism  
brought forth another plight upon the world when Vinsfield left.

"Just like him to cause problems, even in death," Antenora muttered to herself. She despised Vinsfield so  
much, and only now did she despise the fact that he died at someone else's hands.

"But it wasn't by Vinsfield's doing that... Oh, nevermind..." Ashley figured that trying to explain the entire  
situation to her wouldn't change her mind now. They kept quiet after that, trodding along the grass towards  
the explosions going off in the distance. The sun was beginning to start its descent down towards the  
horizon, meaning their trek would soon dive into the nightly air.

Continuing towards the west, they soon saw a massive hill leading to where the explosions were coming  
from. However, a worn path in the grass led around it, rather than up onto it. Bickering over which route to  
take, Antenora pointed out that the path traveled by others would lead to an appropriate entrance into  
whatever city they would be ending up in.

---

"Sir, Excella's returned," a robot hovered over to a desk in a stifling office. The desk's seat was turned  
around, the occupant staring out a large window at the desolate city below. The seat turned around,  
revealing to the robot his boss, a blonde-haired man in a white business suit. "She has promising news."

"Send her in." The robot bowed to take its leave. As it neared the door to exit the room, it opened to  
reveal Excella in her business attire. She walked forwards, the usual smirk spread across her lips. "I trust  
you have news concerning the Key?" She nodded, placing a folder on his desk.

"Caina, the Key, has successfully opened the gate. We should be seeing its effects on the rest of the  
world in a matter of weeks."

"Weeks?!" He stood up abruptly, slamming his hands down on the desk. Excella jumped, averting her  
gaze from him directly as she bit her lower lip. "What do you expect me to do while we wait for the  
results? If you didn't realize it by now, the company is hardly holding on as it is."

"I'm sorry, sir, but the synchronization between Caina and Randolf the Magic Key were below expected  
levels. I had to force the gate open, meaning the desired result will take longer." He seemed to calm  
down, sliding back into his seat and picking up the folder she had placed. In it, details on Caina, including  
his relation with Randolf and prior work experience, was spread out amongst numerous pages.

"I guess that's understandable then. I've had reports from our agents that it has already effected those  
closer to the gate. Strange places and foreign creatures appearing out of nowhere, yet there doesn't seem  
to be any cause for concern. It's almost like they don't even notice the change. Are the preparations set to  
take over when the gate reaches out here?"

"Yes, sir. Just as you ordered, I've increased production of the weapons. By the time the gate completely  
opens, we will be ready to step in. One question though, Mr. Rufus?" She looked towards him, her head  
tilted as she thought about the minor details of the plan. "Was there a reason to increase the production by  
so much? Surely you're not expecting any sort of retaliation, are you?" Rufus just sat there, quiet. "Sir?"

"You're excused, Excella. Go check on the production line and make sure that everything is coming along."  
Excella nodded, turning around to leave. She bit her lower lip again, frustrated with her superior's secrets.  
As she thought about the entire plan, though, she knew that something was bound to happen.

---

The trail along the plains seemed to wrap around the large hill, dipping closer to the shoreline of a  
sparkling ocean. Antenora had never quite seen an ocean so blue, while Ashley watching the marine  
creatures hop out and back into the water, celebrating along with those on the land. As the trail headed  
towards the celebration, they saw a small town built next to the cliff face, the celebration going on far above  
near the remains of a large cannon.

An old woman stood at the fence leading into the town, greeting the two newcomers. "Welcome to the  
Junon Slums," she said politely, smiling. Wrinkles bunched up around her lips as she smiled at them, which  
made them both feel at peace, seeing her. She was openly displaying kindness to them, strangers to the  
town.

Antenora and Ashley took turns asking questions to the old woman, such as what was going on to the  
sky, and what was the celebration for. She had no clue about the sky, saying that it had always been that  
way, but she said that there was an event going on in the city that had the entire region happy.

"The leading scientist in Weapons Development has returned from his trip. To have him back means that  
Junon is well on its way to defending ourselves from neighboring attacks. Peace is sure to come with him  
around."

"What does he have to do with peace?" Antenora asked.

"Well, if we have the power to protect ourselves, we won't be invaded. The head of Junon isn't interested  
in taking over other countries. As long as the people of Junon are safe, that is all that matters to her."

"I'd very much like to meet this person, then." Antenora found it empowering to know that there were  
some leaders that felt that way. Ashley thought of the promise to protect only those within Junon a bit odd,  
however.

"What of the rest of the world, then?"

"You may want to go ask her about all of her ideas, rather than this ol' lady on her opinions. Take the lift in  
the far back up to the main city. It shouldn't be hard to hear word of her if you get up there."


	5. Chapter 5

Convergence - Prelude to Darkness, part 5

"Are you sure?" Antenora asked. They were still unfamiliar to their surroundings, and to just waltz into the  
main city seemed a bit brash. The old lady nodded, telling them that the gates are open to any and all  
travelers. Pointing them in the direction of the elevator, she wished them the best of luck.

"Did you find that odd; that she didn't know a thing about the condition of the sky?" Ashley was concerned  
about where they had wound up. If that was a normal sky for the old woman, they wondered what else would  
they find out that wasn't supposed to be.

The slums of Junon weren't as bad as some of the places either of them had been to in Filgaia; in fact, it  
was rather quaint for living underneath the larger city above. None of the people looked poorly treated, and  
the children played freely with one another. Towards the west, a large frame rose out of the ocean, scaling up  
to the main city far above. Electricity ran through it occasionally, powering the entire city with the water below.

Found in the northern part of the town, a large gate was built into the cliff face. Yellow and black warning  
tape covers the edges of the gate, showing where it opens up. It looked like it was unguarded to the both of  
them, casting suspicion on if it was truly the elevator the old woman spoke of. Coming closer to it, the gate  
opened up on its own, showing them a platform with a control console on it.

"I guess it is," Ashley said, quelling their suspicion. He walked upon the platform first, looking the shaft's  
interior over as Antenora followed behind him. She stepped up to the console, seeing how simple it was. A  
button was on the console, flashing with a red light. The stickers around it were worn down, making the text on  
them illegible. As she pushed the button, the platform jumped up a small foot from its resting spot, recovering  
from hardly being used lately.

With the jump, the platform began a steady climb up a slanted shaft. Ashley backed up towards the center of  
the platform, not wanting to lose his balance. As the platform scaled upwards, it started to buckle and slow down  
near the top, where a doorway was jutting out, a small walkway connecting to the platform. Antenora took hold  
of Ashley by his shoulder, steadying herself as the platform came to a stop.

The doorway from the elevator lead into a small building. Noise could be heard from outside of the building, but  
neither of them could rightly figure out what it was. The entire building was rather small, soldiers running back  
and forth through the doors. Antenora got the attention of a stray soldier, who walked over to her.

"Hey, toots," the soldier said, trying to hit on her. Antenora was a bit shocked to have someone randomly  
flirting with her, but tried to contain herself. She would've normally taken control with her threads and shock  
them, but she didn't want to be given the villain role again. "Come here often?"

"Not really..." She said, looking away. She saw, through the large glass window in front of her view, a large  
platform of stone. Soldiers were drill training just outside the window, whereas large balloons were tethered to  
the ground further away. "What're those?" The soldier looked at the direction she was staring at, unsure what  
she meant.

"You mean the airships?"

"Airships?"

"Yeah. Wow, you've never seen them before? You must be from the countryside. They're used to fly across  
the sky from one port to another. Sort of like a boat works with the water, it glides through the clouds and  
makes it to where we can reach more places. It does have some entertainment values too, you know..." He  
started carrying on about the fun he and his friends had, but both Antenora and Ashley couldn't help but  
staring at it some more.

"They're rather advanced in technology, aren't they?" Antenora asked Ashley under her breath, not wanting  
their soldier friend to overhear.

"Yeah. Then again, we had some technological achievements of our own, didn't we?" He wasn't quite sure,  
not being the scholarly type. Antenora just nodded, changing her attention back to the soldier, who was still  
drolling on.

"...and then you could tie a cloth to your arms and legs, and jump out from a low altitude. Coasting down  
with the cloth slowing you down gives you a breathtaking view, and plenty of time to enjoy it too. How about  
you and I try that sometime?" He moved in to try and wrap his hands around her waist, but Ashley reached for  
his hand, shaking his head.

"Sorry, but she's with me." The soldier looked at Ashley, a bit hurt, before he pulled his hand back. "We are  
travelers, and we were interested in the teachings of your leader. Can we meet with her?"

"I guess..." the soldier said, looking at Ashley as he wrung his wrist loosely. "She's on the airfield, giving her  
address to the soldiers for the day. I doubt she'd want to talk to civilians without an appointment though." He  
pointed at the door on the other side of the window, where the hall curved. They bowed to one another and  
went through the door outside.

The airfield was covered in a constant stream of wind. Behind them, they could hear the celebratory  
fireworks still going off as large crowds cheered. In front of them, a large group of soldiers in green outfits  
practiced their routines of using a gun. Further ahead, a smaller group of soldiers were being addressed by  
a lady with long blue hair.

"That must be her," Antenora said, running towards her. She looked familiar to Ashley, but he wasn't sure  
why. He ran to catch up with Antenora as they neared the woman.

"... and we truly appreciate your efforts to protect Junon. It isn't through one person, but working together  
as one, that peace can be achieved." The lady finished her speech, cuing a raucous roar of cheers from the  
soldiers. She just stood there, smiling with her eyes closed, as her assistant, a purple wolf in a butler's outfit,  
covered his ears.

"Excuse me, miss?" Antenora said, trying to get her attention. The lady turned to face her, her eyes still  
closed. Ashley's eyes widened as she realized who the lady was. He walked further ahead than Antenora, trying  
to make sure he was seeing things properly. Getting within arms-length of her, the butler stepped in front,  
barring him from getting any closer.

"Do you not have any manners?" the wolf snidely barked at him. "Don't approach Lady Anastasia so freely,  
civilian."

"So, you are Anastasia..." Ashley said, trailing off. "You're the Sword Magess, Anastasia, aren't you?"

The lady merely kept her face in his direction, her eyes remaining closed. The butler cleared his throat, drawing  
Ashley's attention towards him.

"Her name is Anastasia, but I'm afraid that's all you got right." Ashley looked back up at her face, noting the  
similarities to when he saw her. "Our lady here is blind, and therefore is unable to use a sword properly."  
Anastasia opened her right eye, showing her milky eyes and empty gaze.

"Is there something wrong?" Antenora walked up, not hearing everything that was being said. Ashley looked at  
Anastasia a bit longer before shaking his head.

"Sorry. I mistook you for someone else I knew, that's all." He shook his head, clearing the thoughts of his mind  
for the moment. "I'm truly sorry for that, Lady Anastasia." He showed proper respect by bowing before her.

"That's quite all right. I don't get compared to others that often, so it is flattering." She giggled, blushing lightly.  
"Lucied, let us take these guests with us up on the Highwind. Something about them eases my troubled mind." Her  
butler bowed in acceptance with her wish, showing all three of them the way to the large airship that was docked  
nearby.


	6. Chapter 6

Convergence - Prelude to Darkness, part 6

Lucied led them onto Highwind, Lady Anastasia's private airship, tending to his master first. After helping her  
sit down comfortably, he offered for their guests to sit in front of her while he prepared them some tea. A  
sudden jolt notified them that the airship began to take off, slowly rising from the airfield of Junon.

"Please forgive us, Lady Anastasia," Ashley said, trying not to be crude in how he spoke, "but we heard that  
you seek peace for Junon only? Is that truly the only thing you can muster?"

"Try to understand that these are trying times, sir... I don't believe we've been formally introduced."

"Oh, that's right. I'm Ashley Winchester, and this is Antenora..."

"Antenora Victoria, ma'am." Antenora bowed her head gracefully, although it fell upon an empty gaze,  
forgetting that their host was blind.

"Pleasure to meet the both of you. Something tells me that you aren't from around here." Ashley and Antenora  
looked at each other, surprised she could come across such a thing easily. "Being blind does allow me to sense  
other things more clearly."

Lucied came forward with a tray lined with three cups of warm tea. After letting his guests take their cups, he  
placed the tray down and lifted the cup into Anastasia's hands. "Lady Anastasia doesn't see a reason to try and  
force her own idea of peace onto others. If they seek her out with an interest for such, then she'd be honored to  
help. Otherwise, she sees no reason to interfere in the affairs of other countries."

"The idea is sound, but surely your people are uneasy. The tide of battle can easily slip upon the city, taking  
many before retaliation can be taken." Antenora was sure of this, having seen it happen before.

"Surely, but that is why we take up arms to protect ourselves. Daily, the guards train and survey the  
surroundings, attempting to keep up the peace we've worked so hard for. It was only recently that we found peace  
for ourselves, and we do not wish it to be taken from us so easily." Anastasia stopped to take a sip from her tea.  
"Lucied, once again, another fine job at preparing the tea."

"Anything for you, my lady." Ashley took a sip from his tea, not really tasting anything at first. As it slipped down  
his throat, he began to taste the citrus flavoring along his tongue. Antenora had a different reaction, tasting sweets.  
Lucied noticed their reactions, explaining to them that it was a special brew of tea.

"What brings you to my presence? Surely, that was not all that you were curious about?" Anastasia was far more  
informed than her condition would've implied. "Is it about the surroundings?"

"Wha-... How did you know of that?" Anastasia smiled, pointing at her eyes again.

"I'm not fooled by the illusions of the eye. I wasn't always the leader of Junon, but I don't seem to remember  
anything prior to it. Lucied doesn't either, even if we share the same sense that something is off."

"Everyone else seems content, not realizing that the sky wasn't always cracked like it is now," Lucied remarked,  
staring out a window at the jagged skyline. "Whatever it means, it can't be good. But, we simply don't remember  
anything else."

"Then how come we remember our memories so clearly?" Antenora was able to clearly go back to her darkest  
memories in Slayheim, while Ashley recalled everything so clearly, some of them caused him to briefly jump in his  
seat. "Is there something different about us from you?"

"You're asking the wrong person, dear. But, what I can tell you is that the sky gets worse, the further west you  
go. Maybe you'll come to find your answers if you head towards the source of the disturbance?" Anastasia sipped  
on her tea some more, not showing any emotion. Truly, she was a composed leader, showing no sign of weakness,  
even to strangers. "I'd be glad to offer my assistance, since I myself am interested in what lies at the center of this."

"Your assistance?" Ashley was confused by her offer of help. "Aren't you the leader of Junon? We couldn't clearly  
ask for you to step away from them to help us." Anastasia almost choked on her tea, hearing him. With Lucied's  
help, she cleared her throat, and laughed a little.

"You're right, but that's not what I was offering. Lucied, show them the map, please?" Lucied bowed at her  
request, pulling a map of the world out from the fold of his tuxedo. He placed it down on the table between the  
guests and his master, smoothing the map out to show everything on it.

"We're currently here, hovering around the skyscape of Junon," Lucied said, pointing at the southwestern edge  
of the northeastern continent. He led his claw along the large ocean to the middle continent. "The sky becomes  
more cracked the further west you go. We lost communication with the lands across the ocean, which only further  
raises concern for the situation."

"How long has the sky been like this?" Antenora asked, curious about the condition of the world. Neither Lucied  
or Anastasia could give an answer, unable to remember the sky being any other way. "That's a bit troublesome..."

"It really is. I remember the..." Ashley started to talk, but held his forehead in pain. "I... I don't remember the sky  
being any different on Filgaia..."

"Ashley?" Antenora could clearly remember the blue skies dotted with puffy clouds, as well as the reddish-orange  
sky from the rising and setting sun. "What's happening?" Again, neither of their hosts could explain what was going  
on. Ashley gripped his forehead with both hands, an immeasurable amount of pain coursing through his mind.

"It's probably better if we take care of him for a while. We may be able to understand what is going on with our  
own memories." Anastasia suggested that Antenora make the journey on her own. She agreed, but asked if she  
could be given some weaponry, her failure in the forest a constant reminder of the threats the new world posed.

"That sounds acceptable. We'll be touching back down in Junon shortly, and I'm sure we can find you something  
to compliment your combat abilities." Lucied assured her that she would do well, and that Junon would offer their  
aid to her in any way they could.

As the Highwind descended upon the airfield of Junon once again, Antenora couldn't help but feel that she was  
getting herself into more than she bargained for. And with Ashley out of the picture for a while, she wondered if she  
was truly capable of braving this strange world on her own.


	7. Chapter 7

Convergence - Prelude to Darkness, part 7

As the Highwind touched down on Junon's airfield, Lucied asked for Antenora to accompany him. Anastasia and  
Ashley were going to stay behind inside the airship for a bit, to try and work some things out about his recent  
memory loss. Ashley couldn't help but feel a bit empty, unable to recall anything more, though he knew there  
was something there.

"Do you think he'll be able to recover his memories?" Antenora asked curiously. She felt sorry that he lost his  
memories all of a sudden, and had a slight fear of losing them herself.

"Who knows? You're the lucky one at the moment, though. You still have your memories. What that means, I'm  
not sure, but it can't be a bad thing." They left the Highwind's cabin and stepped foot on the airfield. Briskly  
walking across it, they arrived at the building Antenora and Ashley had been in before. It looked smaller on the  
outside than it did from within.

"Why are we going back in here?"

"Well, this is our armory, of course. It's not widely known to those outside of the guard force, but the building  
hides our experimental weaponry." Antenora didn't like the sound of "experimental weaponry" as he led her into  
the building. Taking a quick right upon entering, they soon arrived at a locker room that wasn't being used.  
"Please turn your head and don't look. This is a private matter."

She rolled her eyes as she turned around, honoring his wishes. He began fiddling with something, making the  
weirdest of noises with every click and press. Some of the noises were freaking her out, and she was close to  
turning around and looking before he said, "Alright, turn around."

As she turned around, she saw a large display case of weaponry that hadn't been there before. In place of the  
lockers, the case displayed many different guns of differing shapes and sizes. All of them were polished to a  
shine, cartridges displayed underneath them to show which gun used which cartridge.

"This is the collection of weapons that have been tested on the monsters in the surrounding area. We're not sure  
if they'll prove to be useful the further west you go, but it's certain that they should cause some sort of  
recognizable damage." He began naming all of them off and what they did as Antenora stared at them.

Running her hands along the glass as she stared at the different guns, she felt a warmth on one part of it. Looking  
at the gun underneath, she felt her heart skip a beat, then pound fiercely in her chest for a split second. The gun  
gave off a shimmering wave that was unlike the others, which sort of freaked her out.

"What's this one?" She asked, having him jump ahead in the list.

"That's the MXP-001 Blaster. It uses materia cartridges and fires off a concetrated amount of magic energy. The  
shots differ with the different materia being used, and we're having a hard time categorizing the different abilities  
with new materia being discovered on a daily basis."

"Materia?" Lucied looked surprised, but then remembered that she wasn't from the same place.

"Crystallized magic, in other words." He opened a drawer underneath the display case and brought out a small red  
orb. It was polished to a fine shine, but it looked like there were conflicting hues of red within it. "This is a Fire  
Materia. It's a concentrated ball of fire magic." He opened the display case and took out the MXP-001 Blaster,  
opening the butt of the gun and sliding the orb within. "This will fire out bullets of pure fire, capable of burning  
through many things. Of course, each shot requires it to recharge before it can be used again, so it's not safe for  
use in a dangerous situation, where reaction is key."

"Are materia the only things that can be used in it?" Lucied shrugged, not having been asked the question before.

"If it's small enough to fit in it, then I'm sure that it could use any source of magic. I wouldn't suggest trying  
everything, as it may conflict with the energy the gun needs to fire." He opened the butt and took out the Fire  
Materia, handing both of them over to her. "I think you may get use of it over there than we will over here."

"Well, thank you. I don't know if this would be a common weapon, though, if you said it has to recharge. How long  
does it take to recharge?" she asked as he gave her a belt with two holsters.

"It will take about five minutes to recharge with materia. It may be longer for anything else."

She slid the MXP-001 Blaster into the left holster, holding onto the materia until he handed her a small pouch. "And  
what's this for?"

"Line one of your pockets with it. It'll allow you to distort the size of a magical object into the size of a pea when it  
is put in. Something a scientist of ours made up. You may even see him when you're over there. His name's Cid  
Damascus the II." Antenora made a mental note of that as she slipped the pouch into her right pocket, putting the  
Fire Materia in it. As her fingers felt the orb shrink, she also felt a few other items in there. "I figure you may want  
some additional firepower, so I added a few more. Try them out in combat."

"Really, this is quite a lot for you to just give to a stranger. Are you sure I can take these things?" Lucied nodded,  
offering her to pick another gun.

"There's something special about you, and since you've shown proper manners towards my Lady, I wish to show  
you respect and help you. The western lands may be dangerous. We haven't heard from Cid in a while, which only  
goes to show how unpredictable it can be." Antenora took out a few guns, giving them a feel in her hands. Lucied  
gave her a description of what each could do, helping her decide to pick up a simple gun.

"I don't want to use anything that requires an instruction manual as well." Lucied chuckled, nodding at her comment.  
She slid the gun into her second holster as he explained its near-infinite use of ammunition.

"As long as it's given at least an hour in sunlight once a day, it can fire off as many rounds as you may need. Just  
don't forget, for once twenty-four hours pass since its last charge, it will be useless until you charge it up again."  
Antenora nodded, fastening the two guns and zipping up her pouch-lined pocket.

"I guess this will be as ready as I am in terms of weaponry." She then remembered that she had no way to get there.  
She figured that she could find towns here and there in the western lands, but to get there would be a bit more  
dangerous. Lucied assured her that he had already taken care of that.

"We'll offer use of the small airship, Excalibur. We haven't had it tested, so you'll be testing it for us as well." Joy,  
Antenora thought as she followed Lucied outside. They past Ashley and Anastasia, Ashley and Antenora sharing a  
brief glance at one another as they went separate ways. Lucied slowly led her to an airship about three-fourths the  
size of the Highwind. He walked her through the steering and wished her the best of luck.

"Thanks. I may need it, if you don't know how the western lands are." Lucied nodded, staring at her intensely.

"Be careful over there. Whatever is going on over there may not stay there for long. Please know that all of Junon  
looks forward to your successful attempt at scanning the western lands. If you see Cid, please tell his father and his  
country wants him to come back." Lucied pointed over to soldiers grouped around an elderly gentleman in a yellow  
labcoat. "We wish you well, Antenora."

She nodded as she started the airship up, hovering slowly off of the airfield platform before putting it into full speed,  
zooming over the blue ocean below towards her destination.


	8. Chapter 8

Convergence - Prelude to Darkness, part 8

The intense heat and the sound of rushing lava quickly brought Aerith to her senses. For some reason, she felt  
extremely lightheaded, but as she realized where she was, her senses came back to her in full force. She was  
in a cave, lava rushing along on both sides of the path she was laying upon.

She jumped to her feet and looked over her person, making sure that she was all right. Her memory was fuzzy  
about how she arrived here, but she also remembered dying. If she was here now, surely that couldn't be right,  
could it? She thought to herself over and over as she studied her surroundings further. She wasn't quite sure  
how she came to this place, but one thing she was sure of was that it was uncomfortably hot.

"Come further in, child," a stern voice spoke to her through her mind. She had no idea who it could've been, and  
to have a spooky voice just speak to her from out of nowhere was making her a bit weary. However, she  
wanted to know how she came to this place, and figured that the voice would be the first stop. Of course, she  
saw strange, floating balls of fire hovering around the path that led further in, so she looked around for her staff.

"They will cause you no harm, child. Come in, so I may get a better look at you."

"Who are you?" Aerith called out, attempting to get a response. The voice didn't answer, though. She began to  
walk forward, enduring the heat as much as she could for the time being. All the while she walked, she kept  
trying to recall her memories from before. It seemed to blur after the events with Cloud and his friends.

"Don't worry about the past. The present is what requires your attention; your help, rather."

The path began to narrow out as she got further in, the lava only intesifying the temperature around her.  
However, she continued on her way through to the deepest part of the lava cave. She only hoped that she  
would learn more of what was going on when she reached whomever was talking to her.

The flame creatures seemed to hover in a set path, as if they were patrolling the cave and protecting it. It did  
seem odd to see monsters working in such a way, but she figured that there must've been quite a few changes  
while she was out. Far along the path, she got a glimpse of the end of the path, opening up into a circular  
platform with claw-like rock formations decorating the edges.

A large hole could be seen in the center. She wasn't sure how deep the hole went, as she wasn't there, but she  
could see cinders rising up and disappearing into the air from the hole. Given what she had seen about the place,  
she figured she had to be in some place that was extremely dangerous, but she was defenseless, should the  
situation change.

"Come, child," the voice said again, this time a bit softer. As she came closer to the hole, a large pillar of flames  
shot up from within, rising high and disappearing from sight the further it went. As the pillar descended, the form  
of a mighty minotaur became visible. "Hello, child."

"Will you please stop calling me child?" She didn't like being treated like a kid. The minotaur chuckled, nodding at  
her. "Who are you?"

"I am Ifrit. I am a being of magic that coexists with this world. I know you can communicate with the Planet, so  
that makes it easier for you to understand what I am saying." He reached forth, offering her his hand. "I know  
why you've come, but do you?"

"No. I... I don't remember anything more recently. Why am I here, in this incredibly hot cave?" She fanned herself  
with her hands before taking Ifrit's. She felt her body temperature return to normal as his entire body began to  
glow. Her eyes widened in surprise, but she was experiencing quite a bit in a short time to not surprise her.

"You're one of many souls that were brought forth. I don't have the knowledge as to why you are here, in my  
cave, though." Ifrit let go of her hand, beginning to walk around her as he talked. "This cave is known as Ifrit's  
Cauldron, where I dwell. It is merely one of many focus points that people such as you are able to communicate  
with me. However, they aren't able to communicate so clearly, and physically, with us as you can."

"What's so important about that? I've always been able to hear the Planet, ever since I was a little girl." Aerith  
was having a sense of deja vu as her past came up again. "I don't really understand... Are you important?"

"You could say that, I guess." He leaned forward, surveying her more properly. He reached a finger out and  
touched her on the stomach, allowing her to feel his warm touch easily. Shocked, she looked down and saw the  
hole in her dress. "This looks like it was done a while back, but it was a severe wound."

"Wound?" So her memory of being killed was real? "Is this the Afterlife?" Ifrit shook his head, chuckling at her  
question. "Then, am I still dead?" Again, he shook his head.

"I am thinking that we both have a lot of questions to ask one another. The only problem is that I'm losing my  
power. That is why I asked you to come and see me... What is your name?"

"Aerith."

"Aerith..." he repeated, "I want to give you this. I know that it shall protect you in the coming times. The only  
thing I ask is that you listen to it from time to time. It will help you when you need it the most." He reached up  
and lifted a necklace over his head, the brilliant ruby adorned in it shining brighter as it got to her. She marveled  
at the luminous light that it gave off until she wore it.

"What was with the light both you and the necklace gave off?" She bent her head down to stare at the ruby  
within the necklace.

"I don't know myself, but it made me feel rejuvenated, as if you were full of energy to spare. That necklace,  
however, contains my life force. As long as you wear it, it shall protect you." Aerith lifted her head to see Ifrit  
start to fade away.

"Wait! Don't go! Where am I supposed to go from here?" She had no idea where she was, which made navigating  
all the more troublesome. He merely smiled, pointing at the necklace as he faded completely away.

"Listen to the necklace; it will help you." were his final words before he was no longer seen. Aerith held the  
necklace in her hands, staring at it intensely. Another pillar of fire rose up from the hole, spooking her and causing  
her to back up a bit. She figured that now wasn't the time to be listening to jewelry, making her way to the exit.


	9. Chapter 9

Convergence - Prelude to Darkness, part 9

Aerith briskly walked along the earth in Ifrit's Cauldron, not wanting to disturb the floating fireballs with her  
presence. She wasn't quite sure what they'd do, now that Ifrit wasn't around. Somehow, she couldn't help  
but feel a sense of danger as she passed them.

"If I went in deeper to see Ifrit, then maybe I was near the exit when I woke up," she thought to herself  
out loud, walking as fast as she could in her outfit. The entire cave seemed to be heating up further without  
Ifrit's presence, causing the necklace to warm the flesh underneath it as well. She began to see the familiar  
scenery from when she awoke, finding her metal staff on the floor in front of her.

A large fireball burst out of the lava near the path she walked along. Blotches of lava rained down near her,  
causing her to put her arms up in the futile attempt to prevent them from falling on her. She jumped forward,  
trying to reach her staff, but came up short by a few feet, not able to slide far enough on the dirt.

The fireball laughed at her attempt to reach for a weapon, coughing up a fiery wad of its spit in her direction.  
She quickly got to her feet, picked up the staff, and avoided the spit as it landed on the ground where she was  
seconds before. Not wanting to get into a battle, she stepped forward to try and head for the exit. The lower  
part of her dress began to rip, allowing for a further step.

Even thought it was unexpected, she didn't have time to complain about it. More fireballs began to appear  
from within the lava both behind and in front of her on the path she was on. Lava ate through the firmly  
packed dirt, leaving just the smooth stone behind her and some steps towards the dimming gray landscape  
further ahead of her.

Taking a running start, she jumped from one step to another, trying to avoid falling into the small holes of  
lava as well as the fiery spit from the fireballs. The ripping sounds from the lower half of her dress began to  
greatly annoy her, but she didn't have the time to do anything about it. The fireballs didn't seem to be  
bothering her as she got closer to the gray parts of the cave, which is what she was hoping to reach soon.

"Quiet down!" The ruby in the necklace that Ifrit gave her glowed, echoed Ifrit's voice across the cavern.  
The fireballs quickly backed away, allowing Aerith to reach the sturdy path out of the cave. The ruby didn't  
glow anymore, which made her wonder if he was still watching outside of the necklace, or if he was in it.

The cave began to brighten up as she continued on her way out, daylight pouring into the dark hole. She  
shielded her eyes as she passed through the mouth, being in the cave for far too long. As her eyes adjusted  
to the light, they widened as she stared, in horror, at what she saw.

Black branches seemed to hang in the sky, as if it was a part of it. Their thickness seemed to reach further  
north of her, and as she stared, she had to take a second glance, thinking she saw one of them extend. The  
landscape beneath the black and blue sky was just as shocking, showing a charred battlefield. The skeletal  
remains of many different creatures collected all over the place, causing hills of bones to stick out and bar  
her ability to see beyond the wasteland that remained.

"This is just great," she said, sighing. Leaning up against a smooth rock, she slid down and heard her dress  
rip some more. Giving out an annoyed grunt, she held the necklace up closer to her face. "You wouldn't happen  
to know of any civilization being nearby, would you?" There was no response, which made her feel really  
stupid. She let go of the necklace, letting it fall back onto her skin, and ran her fingers through her hair,  
frustrated.

The ruby flashed for a brief second, releasing a small flame from within. The flame flew away from her for a  
few feet, then just hovered still as it burned brightly. From out of the flames, a small minotaur appeared,  
stretching and yawning.

"You called?" it asked in a squeaky voice. Aerith stared at it, trying to contain her thoughts of how cute it  
looked. "The name's Freet, lady." It saw the necklace on her chest, nodding to itself with its arms crossed.  
"Guess Pops wasn't clear in everything, huh?"

Aerith shook her head, getting closer to him. He didn't look at all like Ifrit, even if he shared the common  
appearance of most minotaurs. He had cloven hooves for feet, along with hair covering his legs all the way up  
to his waist. He wore a tropical shirt over his human chest, and a pair of sunglasses over his eyes, resting  
snugly on the bull snout he had for a nose.

"Aren't you going to tell me your name, or am I just supposed to call you lady?" Freet seemed a bit  
bothered by her stares, hovering closer to her face as he tapped one of his hooves on thin air.

"Oh, right. Sorry..." She blushed, backing away. "I'm Aerith, Aerith Gainsborough." She smiled at the little  
minotaur. "You said 'Pops' earlier... Ifrit's your dad?"

"Well, something like that. I'm him, and he's me. We're the same being, only different in abilities and all  
that." He pushed his sunglasses back up, sniffing the air. "But, he's no longer able to manifest into a  
physical form. Lucky for us, you came around when you did, huh?" He chuckled, swishing his tail about as he  
relaxed into a sitting position, as if there was a chair underneath him.

"Why's that lucky? I don't even know why I appeared in the cave when I did." Aerith and Freet talked over  
the circumstances to her getting the necklace, and Freet was especially curious about the gap in her memory.  
"Freet, do you know of any towns around here?"

"I used to. But to be honest, I'm as clueless as you are now." He turned around, looking at the skeletons.

"What? But, how do you not know this sort of thing now? Is this your first time out of the cave, or  
something like that?"

"Nope, not at all." Freet turned back around to face her, removing his shades to give a more serious look at  
her. "This isn't what used to surround the cave, that's what I'm saying. Does any of this look familiar to you?"  
She shook her head. "We're victims of circumstance, that's all I can think of. Having to do with that." He  
extended his index finger, pointing at the black streaks in the sky.

"So that's not a normal thing?" Freet shook his head, looking up at it. Even with a branch passing through  
the sun in its current position, the half that was inside it looked like a negative version. "What is going on...?"

"Judging by the looks of my cave's surroundings, it can't be good. But, since I'm with you, I'm sure we can go  
to the source and fix it!" He flexed one of his arms, popping his shades back on. Aerith chuckled, standing up  
and brushing dirt off of her torn dress. "I'll make sure you're kept safe, don't worry about that."

Aerith began ripping apart her dress, removing the pieces around the tear and shortening how long it was.  
She was glad that she wore pants underneath the dress, despite those that would've loved to look up in back  
when she was with Cloud and his friends. Looking up and daydreaming as she stared at the sky, she wondered  
if they were okay, somewhere amongst all of this.


	10. Chapter 10

Convergence - Prelude to Darkness, part 10

"So, what do you suggest we do then?" Aerith asked Freet, disturbed by the predicament she was in. "If  
you don't know the surroundings at all, what use are you to me than a lighter?" Freet raised an eyebrow,  
snorting flames out of his nostrils.

"I can do more than play with fire. For instance..." He snapped his fingers, an echo resonating in the mouth  
of the cave. Aerith looked around, expecting something to be different, while Freet merely smirked. In a matter  
of minutes, a fireball from within Ifrit's Cauldron came out. "Start hoverin' and find us a village or something  
nearby."

The fireball began to rise, which startled Aerith. She didn't know they could operate outside of the cavern  
with how they were arranged during her escape. After it got high enough to see around the wasteland, it  
bobbed up and down.

"It says there's a small village to the northwest of here, and we can reach it through the wasteland." He  
snapped his fingers again, dispersing the fireball up above them. Aerith gasped, worried about the thing. "Don't  
worry. It just went back to where it belonged." He smirked, floating over to her shoulder and sitting on it. "Let's  
get going!"

"You're just going to hitch a free ride while I do all the walking?"

"Nonsense! I'm gonna protect you, remember? So, I gotta keep my energy up. Besides, there's probably  
nothing among these bones anyway." He patted her cheek, smiling. "Nothing to fear as long as I'm here.  
Remember that." Winking, he pointed forwards, signaling her to start walking.

With her staff in hand, Aerith began walking away from the mouth of Ifrit's Cauldron, taking her time scaling  
the numerous hills of skeletons when there was no way around them. Thick clouds of fog seemed to hover  
close to the ground, making it hard to see around them sometimes. She often lost sight of the sky, trying to use  
it to gauge which direction she needed to go.

"So, what's the story with you?" Freet asked bluntly. "You died, and then you wake up alive? That's kind of  
freaky, don't you think?" Aerith nodded, wondering herself. "Maybe there's a connection between you coming  
to life and the sky? Or a connection between those two and the area being different?"

"Your guess is probably better than mine. All of this is different to me, so it's no surprise that none of it is  
familiar. But, you've been out of the cave plenty of times, so I'm sure it came as a shock to you to see everything  
like it is."

"That is definitely true. The sky looks the same, but that's not counting for much, what with the influence of  
magic in the world." He winked, blowing out a small wisp of smoke that resembled a heart at her. "Take me for  
example. I'm a being of magic, as true as the nose on your face."

"I can see that. And those fireballs back there, I'm guessing they were magic as well?"

"We call them Bombs, because of their fiery tempers sometimes." Freet snickered, mimicking their explosive  
nature. "Pops usually had to submerge them in lava to keep them from blowing up the cave."

"If you and Ifrit are the same, why do you call him 'Pops'? I still don't understand that."

"It's complicated." Freet leaned forward on her shoulder, striking a thinking pose. "Think of it like time; he's my  
future, and I'm his past. He's what I'll become, and I'm what he used to be." Aerith shrugged, following him  
slightly. "When a Guardian, such as him, loses their ability to become physical, it takes a toll on the element we  
control."

"The Bombs back there started picking on you as soon as he disappeared, right? Well, that's because his  
influence was weakening. I was trying to sleep, but apparently they didn't know that." He hopped off of her  
shoulder and pointed at the ruby in her necklace. "I came from this. It's like my home."

"Ah, I see. So you were the one who said to be quiet earlier?" Freet nodded, smirking. "It was rather deep,  
so I thought it was Ifrit."

"Like I said; we're the same person. So, it's only natural you'd think that. Watch it." He halted her progress as  
a steam geyser shot forth from the ground. The steaming water narrowly avoided touching her going up, giving  
her time to move out of the way before it came down. Freet winked, hovering back to her shoulder.

"Thanks. So, how did you do that?"

"I sensed the heat." Freet flexed his arm, trying to impress her some more. She couldn't help but laugh,  
enjoying the company. Before she even realized it, she had traversed through the wasteland, finding grass  
beginning to bloom on the edges. Smoke rose beyond a small line of trees, which they both hoped was where  
the village was.

Aerith jumped off of the last hill of bones, glad to see signs of life once again. She lost her balance near the  
bottom, falling face first into the dirt and sending Freet flying a few feet away from her. As she began to stand,  
she felt something snagged on her foot. Thinking it was just a stray bone she tripped over, she looked back to  
move it away.

"Aerith!" Freet said, but it was too late; she had already seen the bony hand of a skeleton as it held onto her  
foot. From underneath the pile of bones, it stared at her with its vacant eye sockets, the entire skull deformed to  
give it an angry expression.

Bending to try and pry the skeleton's grip from her foot, she found it to be far stronger than she would've  
expected. Taking hold of her staff, she began to whack at it a few times on the skull, hoping to make it retreat. As  
the skull started to crack, she felt its grip tighten.

"Freet, help!" she asked, not sure what to do. She took a whack at its arm, breaking it apart and allowing her to  
get away from the pile of bones. The skeleton pulled itself out from underneath, staring at her intensely as a red  
light shined from deep within.

The bony hand of the skeleton was still holding onto her foot tightly, despite her attempts to pull it off. Freet flew  
over and held his hands out towards it, releasing a steady stream of fire on it. Singing her pants lightly, he  
managed to cause its grip to loosen.

Taking hold of the hand at that moment, she pulled it off and threw it at the skeleton, who was walking towards  
her slowly. A black liquid oozed out of the skeleton's joints, giving it a creepier look. The same liquid began to pour  
out of the other skeletons near the wasteland's edge, causing them to start moving.

"We don't stand a chance against these many creatures. Let's get going!" Freet said, hovering beside Aerith as  
she stood up and ran towards the billowing smoke. She hoped that the skeletons wouldn't follow them, not wanting  
to look back. Whatever world she found herself in was turning out to be more dangerous than she expected.

She often lost sight of the sky, trying using it to gauge which direction she needed to go.


	11. Chapter 11

Convergence - Prelude to Darkness, part 11

Running as fast as she could, Aerith reached the trees between her and the billowing smoke, hoping that a  
village awaited her on the other side. Freet hovered onto her shoulder, breathing heavily as he fanned himself  
with his hands.

"That was scary," he said, trying to cool off. "I've never seen anything like that before!"

"Me neither. This is a lot to take in one day..." Aerith sighed, propping herself against a tree as she tried to  
calm down. "I wish there was a guide or something to warn me of these things." She hinted at Freet, clearing  
her throat, but he didn't get what she meant.

"Maybe the villagers will be able to help us."

"You're sure that there's a village waiting for us through the forest?" Freet nodded, seeming to be sure of the  
Bomb's information. Aerith stood up, breathing in deeply. "Fine. Let's get going then, before those things catch  
up." She turned her head to see if they were still being followed.

A mass of black goo bubbled slowly towards them. The skeletons could no longer be seen within as it lurched  
forward, bubbling and causing the grass to dry out as it got near it. Aerith let out a scream of terror, running into  
the forest in hopes of throwing it off, as well as getting some help with it.

Freet had a hard time holding onto her as she jumped over branches and sharply passed by trees. She wanted  
as much distance as possible between her and the slimy creature, hoping that it'd give up. As she steadied  
herself, she turned her head to see if there was any sign of it yet. Unfortunately, she wasn't watching where she  
was going, hearing Freet yell a warning before it was too late.

"Aerith, watch out!" he yelled. As she turned her face to look, she ran right into a wall made out of fresh mud.  
Freet mumbled, his face stuck in the same mud beside her, before she managed to free herself. Spitting some mud  
out of her mouth, she pulled the little minotaur out and brushed him off. "You were supposed to watch out!"

"Sorry..." She felt incredibly stupid for not keeping an eye in front of her. Her whole body felt sore from the  
impact, even though the wall wasn't that hard. Mud covered her from head to toe, dripping off of her clothing and  
hair. She sighed, trying to wipe off as much as she could, but her outfit was completely ruined.

"Oi out there!" a voice cried from the other side of the mud. "You all right?"

"In all that matters, I guess..." She figured that clothes could be replaced, but as long as she didn't lose a body  
part in the sticky wall, she was perfectly fine. "I'm a traveler seeking shelter. There's a black mass following behind  
me, but it's incredibly slow."

"That thing again? Sheesh..." A hand gripped the top of the wall, soon followed by someone's head popping up.  
It was a young girl with yellow and red hair, pulled back with a pink bow and spiked past it. Hoisting her entire  
body onto the wall, she showed off her white shorts, white jacket, and a pink shirt.

She looked down at Aerith and laughed a little, seeing the mud covering her front entirely. Helping her up onto  
the wall, she told Aerith to get down the other side. As she touched the ground, she saw that there was yet  
another wall of mud nearby. Turning her attention back to the trees, the girl blew between her right index and  
middle finger, making a sharp whistle that carried throughout the forest.

"You better not come back over here, or I'll kick your butt! You hear me?!" A wisp of fire escaped from her  
mouth, showing her anger. She looked back and winked at Aerith, jumping down beside her. "Sorry about that."

"Eh... that's fine." Aerith wasn't sure she should question the girl's obvious temper problems yet. Taking her by  
the hand, the girl introduced herself as Ruby and led her around the mud wall to an opening leading in to a small  
camp. Small families collected around tents, tending to their own as they stared at the newest addition to the camp.

"Welcome to Hiro. It's not much to others, but it's home to us." Tents darted across the small clearing, stumps  
fashioned into seats and fallen logs into tables. In the middle of it all, a large hole in the ground constantly let smoke  
slip out, rising up into the sky as it blended in.

"Thanks..." Aerith was glad Freet was hiding within her hair bow, not wanting to cause a commotion with everyone  
around. "Why do you all live out here, in the forest?"

"Where else is there for those who have suffered? We have no where else to live, due to the wars we've suffered.  
Our homes were lost from the fighting, and all we have left is one another. So, we live here, on the edge of the  
wasteland, as a reminder of what we've lost."

"I see..." Aerith looked down, knowing what it's like. "I'm not sure what to say..." Ruby consoled her, asking her not  
to be sad.

"We're used to living out here by now. We stick up for one another, and we look after each other. If it wasn't for  
the war removing us from where we used to live, we wouldn't be so closely knit now. We're practically one big family!"  
Ruby smiled. She motioned for Aerith to follow her towards one of the larger tents, which was cared for by a  
soft-voiced woman.

"Oh dear, your clothes are beyond repair, I'm afraid," the woman said sadly. Taking Aerith inside, she took careful  
consideration of Aerith's apparent athletic needs and rummaged through the tons of clothes that were provided within.  
"We try our hardest to make new clothes for anyone that graces our camp. Whether they stay or if they continue on a  
journey is up to them, but we're hospitable otherwise."

"That's quite nice of you, actually. Do you not have to worry about monsters?" The woman shook her head. "This  
must be a pleasant place to live then."

"We still have our minor problems, but it's nothing that Ruby can't handle."

"She's the head of the camp? But she's so young!" Aerith found that rather hard to believe that everyone trusted a  
little girl with their safety. The woman chuckled, shaking her head as she compared a pair of shorts with a shirt, holding  
it up against Aerith's back to match the roominess.

"You'd be surprised, really. She's proven to be quite a handful for the ruffians that tried to take things from villagers,  
just outside the forest north of here."

"Speaking of that... What's with the sky?" The woman looked at her curiously, unsure of what she meant. "What's  
with the black, jagged edges in the sky?"

"What're you talking about? It's always been like that."

"Are you sure?" Aerith was beginning to wonder more about the condition of the sky as the woman handed her some  
clothes to try on. Freet quickly hid in a pile of clothes as she stepped behind a curtain to try them on.


	12. Chapter 12

Convergence - Prelude to Darkness, part 12

Freet lounged about amongst the clothes, wondering what was taking Aerith so long. Instead of waiting any  
longer, he wiggled his way out of the clothes and snuck out of the tent, wishing to take a look around the  
encampment. He wasn't sure if the citizens could see him like Aerith, but he didn't want to take any chances  
of being considered a monster. Therefore, he made sure to hide amongst the trees, or anything else that  
would allow him to spy.

He quickly crawled across the ground from the tent to a nearby bush, peeping through it to look around.  
Throughout the air, he could smell something unusual. Looking around, he saw people gathering in front of a  
tent across from where he came from, smoke rising from within it. Curious about what could be in it, he  
crawled along the ground, or quickly ran, from one hiding spot to another, making sure to avoid being seen  
through the process.

Not watching where he was running over, he tripped over an exposed root, sliding into a nearby bush.  
Although he made it safely, he peeked out of the bush to make sure no one saw him. A little kid looked in his  
general direction, which frightened him. He retreated into the depths of the bush, watching through the  
opening of the leaves as the kid got closer.

"Mommy, I think I saw a rat..." the kid said to his mother, still inching his way closer to the bush. Freet could  
feel his heart beating fast, thinking he'd be found out. As the boy got close enough to peek into the bush, his  
mother quickly came by and grabbed him by the hand, leading him towards the tent Freet was interested in.  
Walking away, the boy's mother was telling him not to play with rats.

"Phew..." Freet sighed, sitting down on the branches of the bush. He waited a bit before he continued towards  
the tent, taking extra care not to be seen now. With a few more hiding spots, he finally wound up with his back  
against the soft fabric of the tent. Checking to make sure that no one saw him against it, he then turned around  
and lifted the fabric up to look within.

Despite the size of the tent on the outside, the interior was vast. He happened to be looking into a large  
feeding hall, almost the entirety of the camp filling in for lunch. Smoke billowed from the kitchen part of the tent,  
hanging around the top and working its way out through the many holes that were designated for it. The  
strange smell seemed to be coming from the kitchen, as well as the food, despite it looking normal.

As he looked at the cooks, he felt something strange was going on. He wriggled his way in and decided to take a  
better look at what was being prepared, keeping out of view of the chefs. Freet wasn't a professional at the  
cuisine of mortals, but he did know that something was off with the smell. Ruby ordered for the cooks to come to  
the front, which gave him some time to look into the nearby skillet.

Chopped meat was thrown into the skillet with a mixture of spices and herbs. Of course, he knew nothing about  
what was actually used, but the stench was unbearable to him. Hearing the racket the chefs were making as they  
came back, he quickly jumped back down and wiggled out of the tent. Figuring Aerith was done changing clothes  
now, he made a dash from one hiding spot to another and quickly arrived back at the tent he had left her at.

Wriggling underneath the tent's fabric, he saw Aerith looking at her new clothes in the mirror. She was wearing a  
pink t-shirt and a pair of blue jean shorts, which actually made her other outfit seem like it covered her more. She  
saw him through the mirror and smiled.

"I know it's not much, but at least it's something to wear for now, right?" Freet simply nodded, his nostrils still  
burning from the smell in the kitchen. Aerith saw his discomfort and crouched down to try and talk to him  
indiscreetly. "What's wrong?"

"Do you not smell something foul?" Aerith took a few good sniffs, smelling the food that was being prepared. She  
licked her lips, admitting to not having anything to eat since she came to in Ifrit's Cauldron. Freet covered his  
nostrils with his hands, looking a bit pale. She was concerned about his reaction to the food... "Maybe I'm just not  
used to the food you all may eat, but it smells terrible."

"Maybe..."

"So, who's this?" Ruby spoke up behind Aerith, a look of disapproval on her face. Aerith jumped up, stepping in  
front of Freet to try and hide him. "I saw the little rat. Don't try to hide it now." Freet hovered up to Aerith's  
shoulder, peeping over her to look back at Ruby while trying to stay quiet.

"You can see me?" Freet said, staring back at her. He was certain that no one else could see him, but after the kid  
came close to finding him, he wasn't sure anymore. Ruby reached over Aerith's shoulder and picked him up by the  
scruff of his shirt, taking him over to the lady that picked out clothes for everyone. All the while, Freet kicked and  
thrashed, trying to break free from her grasp.

"What's this?" Ruby asked the lady. Looking around, the lady wasn't sure what Ruby was talking about, so she  
merely laughed uncomfortably and shrugged. Answering Freet's question, Ruby went back over to Aerith, tossing  
her Freet. "So, who are you?"

"His name is Freet. We met at Ifrit's Cauldron." Aerith decided not to get too involved with the details yet, since she  
wasn't sure of Ruby's position on Freet being around in the first place.

"I'm a Fire Guardian! A title given to me and entrusting me with the power of flames." He breathed a small cone of  
fire, trying to intimidate Ruby. She didn't seem all that bothered, though, as she merely turned around to leave.  
Before leaving the tent, however, she turned back to face Aerith.

"Come to my tent when you get done. It's the one with a bunch of cages set up around it. I don't think you could  
miss it even if you wanted to." With that, she left, leaving Aerith and Freet to worry about what she wanted to talk  
about. Aerith thanked the lady for the clothes and left, Freet hiding in her bow once again. As they left the tent, they  
saw what Ruby meant about her tent.

The largest tent throughout the camp, empty cages were stacked upon one another near the entrance, funneling in  
people and making it unlikely that more than a few people could enter at once. A pink tint was given to the tent  
fabric, while a red heart was sewn onto the flaps. Aerith wasn't sure if it was going overboard, or if it was extremely  
cute, but she did know that it seemed to suit Ruby, since she was a little girl and all.

Freet covered his nose as they walked across the camp, the smell hard to bear with. He wasn't sure what was with  
the food, but he knew that human food wasn't supposed to smell like that. He had interacted with Ifrit on countless  
occasions when he brought forth some humans to test, and they carried travel rations with them. But, the smell of  
the food was a mixture of that and something foul. As they neared the tent, he hoped that maybe Ruby could  
explain what the smell was, as well as ask how she could see him, but some others couldn't.


End file.
